Meter.



L. L. TATUM.

METER.

APPLICATION FILED [AB- I913.

Patented Sept. 18, 1917.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

L. L. TATUM.

MUER.

APPLICAIION men a. I. I9I3.

1,240,797. Patented Sept. 18,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

$44 WWW M UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS L. 'ILTUI, OI MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ABBIGN'OB 1'0 THE CUTLER-HAMMER m. 60., OF IILWLUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

rm'rmi.

1,24o,797. sp or e m Patented Sept. 18, 1917. Application fled larch 1, 1918. Serial lloJflLm.

To all whomit concern: mentioned automaticcut-ofl' or reduction of Be it known that I, Luwrs L. Tam, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in .Meters, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and

exact descriptioai, mierenge being had to th; accompan v rawing, orming a part 0 this specilicatlon.

The invention relates to meters It relates particularly to thermal fluid meters and to electric thermometer resistances for use therein.

Meters have been devised\for measuringc the flow of fluids in which heat is 'pated a meter be provided which to the flowing fluid and the tempo urerise of the fluid measured for determining the rate of flow. The temperature rise is generally by two electricthermometers, one a in advance of and the other behind the heater. Theseermometors are generally in the formof screens made of resistance wire disposed substantially uniformly across the entire cross-sectional area of the conduit so that the resist- -ance wire tends to assume the average temperature of the flowing fluid. The electrical resistance of the wire depends upon its temperature anal thereby afiordsfatgasis for detemperature 0 0 gas.

If the new of this type a certain amount of electrical energy would be consumed uselwsly' and in some usetsilzhe meter elangnmts might be dag; aged ve perature resul' from e lack of ventilation of. the heating element. It is a y. im rtant that automaticallyprotect itself and avoid uslesswaste of en in case theflow of fluid ceases or some 0 r abnormal condition arises.

One of the objects of-thepresent'invention is to proiide an improved meter 1n curnmt is automatically; eners are preferab? o of gas should cease in a meter the heating current.

A further object is to provide an unproved thermometer resistance for use with a meter of this type.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment oi the invention. The views of the drawin are as follows:

Figure 1 1s a side elevation of a thermometer resistance constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the thermometer shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is'an enlarged elevation of a portion of the thermometer shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an illustration of theautomatic controlling apparatus for the meter.

The electric thermometer resistance used with the meter will first be described.

Said thermometer comprises a cu'cular hoop'or frame 1 of an 10 section,.constructed preferably of meta The inner flange of t e frame is provided with a plurality'oi holes 2, arranged at short intervals around the circumference, as shown particularly in Fi 1, said frame being provided with sti ening bars 3. The supporting insulating material for the resistance wire is prefa ly a p re s cord-or line, although it to each of t 0 cross supports or stiflening,

bars 3. These stifleliingbars are for the purpose of stifiening the screen a e a whole against the blast action of the gases. They serve to shorten the unsu ported length of of the silk cord, eac cord. being tied w it crosses each support. These stiflspaced not very'far apartandarethere nere'qulr'ed oneven the ma m. Q mmerci. 'ally- In order to mount the- 00 wire, it back and forth on pins on.a temporary circular irame which is placed of thethermometer unit frame so that the to wire runs at-rig t angles toflw g to provided the gasis flowin supporting silk cord. The wire is then tied to the cord wherever it intersects the latter by a thread, preferably a silk thread, which is smaller than the silk cord. The thread is applied in a convenient manner by starting at the end of each supporting cord, securing it, and then running it alongside the supporting cord and tying a knot around earhintersection of resistance wire 7 and silk cord. The silk thread is thus carried across the frame and is tied at the other end of said frame. In this manner, the resistance wire is supported at a very large number of points, the wire and silk cord being secured to each other at each intersection thereof.

After the tying is completed, the entire thermometer, or resistance unit, is dipped in some impregnating material, preferably shellac, which binds the knots in the threads and protects the unit from the chemical action of the gas and from moisture. The

ends of the resistance wire 7 are connected to the terminals 8 and 9, res ectively the 2 5 latter being mounted on insu ating blocks 10 and 11, respectively, which are suitably secured to the circular frame 1. The resistance wire, aside from its tefininal points of attachment, is out of contact with the cir- 80 cular frame but, at the same time, is well supported thereby, being secured at regular intervals, and insulated therefrom. The resistance wire may be exceedingly fine, that is, of very small mass; and the silk cord and L85 silk thread being also fine, no substantial obstruction is ofl'ered to the-flow of gas therethrough. Furthermore, as will be a parent, the len -h of the resistance wire in contact with t e su porting cord is very '10 small indeed, thein ividual contacts being little more than points. i

It is desirable ordinarily to have the resistance wire disposed uniformly a'cross the conduit through which the gas flows, in order that the temperature indicated by said resistance wire may represent the avera 2 temperature of the flowmg gas, particular y where the temperature is not uniform 7 throughout the cross-section. One of the 80 features of the present invention however,

relates ,to the reducing ofv the heating current when the gas ceases to flow. Accordingly the resistance of the upper half of the thermometer unit is made greater than that of the lower half. With suchan arrangement of a" resistance unequally disposed across the flowing stream of the accuracy of operation of the meter, in which such a thermometer is employed, is not afiected, at a fair rate A therethrough. If the s ould flow very slowly, however, or ould cease its flow altogether, then the readin of the thermometer willbe affected there y, the practical as use of this feature being hereinafter explained. In the unit illustrated the uneven disposition of the resistance is secured by looping the turns of the resistancewire closer together on one side of the screen than on the other.

It is to be understood that other methods of unequally distributing the resistance wire may be employed. The arrangement of the heater and the thermometer resistances in the meter is illustrated in Fig. 4 in which the heater and the thermometer resistances are shown diagrammatically by the reference numerals 12, 13 and 14 respectively.

The thermometer resistance 13 is arranged in advance of the heater 12. The side of the resistance screen upon which the resistance wire is looped closely together is placed at the bottom of" the meter housing or conduit so that the larger amount of resistance is at the bottom of the housing.

The thermometer resistance 14 is located on the opposite side of the heater 12 and is sub'ect'ed to the flowing fluid after it is heated. The side of the thermometer 14 having the .resistanee wire looped closely together is placed at the top of the housing or conduit so that the larger amount of resistance of the thermometer 14 is at the top of the housing.

When the fluid being measured is flowing at a substantial rate, the accuracy of the meter is not impaired by the arrangement of the resistance. When the fluid isflow-- ing slowly, however, the temperature indicated by thethermometer 13 will be lower 100 than the average temperature of the fluid at this point and the temperature indicated by the thermometer 14 will be higher than the average temperature of the fluid at the p oint where the thermometer 14 is located. 5

he reason for this will be ap arent when it is borne in mind that when t e gas is flowing slowly, and particularly when it ceases to flow altogether and the heat continues to be dissipated from the heatin unit, the no upper part of the body of gas wi 1 be much warmer than the lower part. Consequently the temperature difl'erence as indicated by the two thermometer resistances 13 and 14 will increase when the gas ceases to flow or? when it fiows very slowly, the construction of the thermometer resistances serving to accentuate this diflerence. This increase in temperature may be used in various ways to cut oil or reduce the current to the heater 12. In the apparatus shown in Fig. 4 the heating current is automatically reduced and then cut of! as the difl'erence in temperature between the thermometer resistances 13 and 14 iricreases. A decrease in the temperature ifl'erenee between the thermometer resistances also automatically increases the heating current to the heater 12. The automatic controlling a paratus per 8c is described in detail an claimed in th patent 13o to Carl C. Thomas No. 1,222,492 of April 10, 1917. The apparatus willtherefore be only briefly descri ed herein;

The electric heater .12 is supplied with current from the mains 15 and 16. The circuit of the heater is from the positive main 15 through the conductor 17, the coil 18 of the watt meter 19, through the adjustable rheostat 20 and the heater 12, to the negative main 16. The rheostat 20 regulates the amount of current flowing to the heater 12 and the watt meter 19 measures the flow of current through the heater.

The rheostat 20 is automatically controlled in response to the temperature difierence be tween thethermometer resistances 13 and 14.

The automatic controlling apparatus comprises in general an electrically operated stepby-step mechanism 21 controlled by automatically operated switches 22 and 23.

The itch 22 cooperates with a alvanometer needle 24 which is moved in response to the temperature diflerence between the thermometer resistances. Said switch is provided with a relatively broad contact 25 and a series of contacts 26. Contact 25 is periodically reciprocated by a mechanism driven by an eleclgic, motor 27. When the contact 25 is move upwardly it engages the galvanometer needle 24 between itself and one of said contacts'and completes one of the various circuits to the step-by-step mechanism 21 to actuate said mechanism to adjust the rheostat 20. The circuits from the 7 contacts 26pass throu h'the drum switch 23 which is constructs bridge is illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 4. .Theithermometers are connected so that for a given tem erature diiference the needle 24 remains in its central position and the automatic apparatus ,for a justing the rheostat remains inactive. temperature difl'erence between the thermometers increases or decreases the balance of the Wheatstones bridge .ls destroyed and the galvanometer needle moves. Some one of the circuits to the step-by-step mechanism is then completed and said mechanism operated toadjust the rheostat to vary the current to the heater 12. When the temperature difference increases abnormally, as for example, when the gas flow ve slowly orceases to flow altogether, t e ga vanomv eter needle is moved to extreme position in one direction and the arm of rheos'tat 20 is moved around reduce the current to the heater 12, and finally to broil? th'e'circuit Whenever the -e through the heater, the arm moving to the blank contacts of the rheostat.

It is to be understood t t the structure shown is for purposes of ustration only and that other structures may be devised which come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new andfldesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An-electric thermometer resistance comprising a frame, supporting means carried by said frame and a resistor carried by said supporting means and disposed so that the resistance of the area covered by the resistor at one side of the frame is greater proportionally than the resistance of the area covered by the resistor at the other side of the frame.

2. An electric thermometer resistance comprising a frame, supporting means of nonconducting material carrie by said frame, and a resistor in the form of a wire doubled back and forth to cover substantially the entire area bounded b said frame, said wire being supported y said supporting means out of contact with said frame, and being disposed so that the resistance of the area covered by the resistonat one side of the frame is greater proportionally than the resistance of the area. covered by the resistor at the other side of the frame.

3. An electric thermometer resistance comprising a circular metallic frame, a plurali of parallel non-conducting cords stretch across said frame and spaced at substan-' tially equal intervals, and a reflexed resistance wire secured to said cords, the sugacent turns of said wire being substanti ly parallel to eachother and arranged at right an les to said cords and d' so that the resistance of a given portion of the area covered by said 'wire is greater than the resistance of the remainder of said area.

4. An electric thermometer resistance compri'sing a metallic hoop, a plurality of equally at opposite ends to said hoop, a res stance element comprising a.-plurality of adjacent l hs of resistance wire substantially paralle to each other and weed apart, said lengths of resistance wire, in arranged to intersect said cords and being tied thereto at each intersection and being so disposed that the res'stance of the wire covering a portion of sai area is-relatively greater than the resistance of the wire covering the remainder of said area.

5. An electric thermometer resistance comprising a frame, a resistance wire supporte thereby and insulated therefrom, said wire being so disposed with respect to said frame as to cover substantially the entire area bounded thereby, and being arranged so that the total resistance of sai area at one spaced non-conducting cords of the frame is greater proportionally than the resistance of the area at the other side of the frame.

6. In a resistance thermometer, a circular supporting frame, a resistance element su ported thereby and covering substantial y the entire area bounded by said frame the resistance of said element over one-half of said area being greater than over the other half thereof.

7. An electric thermometer resistance comprising a screen of resistance wire the total resistance of one-half of which is greater than that of the other half, whereby the thermometer resistance may be made responsive to differences in temperature of different portions of the cross section of a stream of fluid to which the thermometer is subjected.

8. In a resistance thermometer, a plurality of substantially parallel lengths of resistance wire, arranged so that the resistance of a portion of the area covered by said wire is greater than that of the remainin portion, a plurality of substantially paralleI supporting non-conducting cords arranged at right angles to said lengths of wire, and a plurality of non-conducting threads, one for each of said cords, said threads being tied around each intersection of said wire and cord.

9. In. a meter, a heater, and an electric thermometer adjacent thereto, said thermometer having the form of a wire screen,

the resistance of the upper half of said screen being substantially different from the resistance of the lower half.

10. In a meter, a heating element, and a temperature responsive device on each side thereof, one of said devices bein responsive to unequal temperatures at di erent parts thereof. '1

11, In a meter, an electric heater, an electric thermometer on each side of said heater, each of said thermometers having the form of a wire screen, the resistance of one-half of each screen'bein greater than the resistance of the other i similar but inverted with respect to each other.

12. In a meter, an electric heater, :1. pair of resistance thermometers arranged one on each side thereof, each thermometer havin the form of a wire screen, the resistanceio the lower half of one screen bein greater than that of the upper half, and t e resistance of the upper half of the remaining icriefen being greater than that of the lower measure 1: e temgerature of the gas before,

heating, a se'co electric thermometer aralf, said screens being" 13. In combination a conduit Enough means ranged behind said heater to measure the temperature of'th'e gas after heating, said heater and said thermometer being so connected with suitable electric controlling devices that the electrical energy supplied to saidheater is automatically varied to maintain substantially constant the temperature rise of the gas as indicated by said two thermometers, the resistance of said thermometers being so arranged with res ect to the cross-sectional area of said con uit that a higher temperature in the upper part of said conduit will increase the apparent diflerence of tem erature indicated by said thermometers and reduce said energy.

14. In a meter, an electric heater, means for suppl ing electrical energy thereto, an electric t ermometer on opposite sides of said heater, means for varying the electric energy su plied to said heater to maintain substantia ly a constant temperature difl'erence between said thermometers when gas is flowin therethrough, and means for auto-- matica ly decreasing the, energy dissipated by said heater when the gas ceases to flow.

15. A fluid meter having means for measurin the flow of a stream of fluid by impartln heat thereto and means for automatica ly decreasing the supply of heat to the heating means when the flow of fluid decreases or ceases.

16. A fluid meter having means for measurin the flowof a stream of fluid by impartm heat thereto and means for automatica 1y shutting ofi the supply 1; heat to the heating means when the flow? of fluid decreases or ceases.

17. A fluid meter having means for measurin the flow of a stream of flui'd by imparting heat thereto by means of an electric eater and means for automatically decreasing the supply of electric energy to the heater when the flow of fluid decreases or ceases.

' 18. A fluid meter having means for meas- 11o uring the flow of a stream of fluid by imparting heat thereto by means of an electric heater and means for automatically shutting ofl the suppl of electric energy to the heater when t e, flow of fluid decreases or ceases.

19. A fluid meter having means for imparting heat tea stream of fluid at a do terminab'le rate, means responsive to the temperature, rise of the fluid for controlling the rate at which heat is imparted, said controlling means being adapted to shut ofi the supply of heat when the flow of fluid ceases.

20, A meter having a housing, heating therein, temperature onsive means on opposite sides of said eating means, means controlled by said temperature responsive means for regulatingautomatically the amount of heat dissipated in said housing to maintain constant the tcmperature rise produced by the heating means,

and means for measuring the heat imparted, said regulating means being adapted to automatically shut ofi the supply of heat when the flow of fluid ceases.

21. A fluid meter having electric heating means for imgarting heat to a flowing stream of flui means r onsive to the temgerature rise of the flui means regulate by- ,said temperature responsive means for automatically controllingthe supply of electrical energy to said heating means and for automaticall' shutting 01? said stiplf ly when the flow o fluid ceases and means or measuring the electrical energy supplied to 5 the heating means.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

W s L. mm

will

FRANK H. Hummm, Lmnanu A. Wawson. 

